


Control

by Gavinthecomputer



Category: GOT7
Genre: F/M, M/M, Mates, Supernatual AU, Witches, Wolf AU, youngjae and yugyeom are brothers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-23
Updated: 2018-10-23
Packaged: 2019-08-06 07:01:00
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,973
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16383515
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gavinthecomputer/pseuds/Gavinthecomputer
Summary: In which Youngjae and Yugyeom are brothers in a family of witches, and Youngjae has a bad habit of stealing all of Yugyeom's friends (though, he really, really doesn't mean to.)





	Control

**Author's Note:**

> (barely edited. please point out typos if you find them, i'd love the help!)

“I hate my brother,” Yugyeom groaned.

Bambam, his new friend from school, blinked. “Why?”

“He always steals everyone from me!” Yugyeom cried. He reached out and grabbed Bambam’s hands. “You won’t be stolen from me, right?”

Bambam smiled at Yugyeom. “Sure, Yugyeom. I don’t see why I would…”

“Literally everyone I’ve ever tried to date has gotten caught up and him and left me,” Yugyeom moaned, flopping back onto his kid-ish _Avengers_ bedsheets. “He doesn’t even care! I know he’s got someone at college, but he doesn’t even care.”

“That sucks,” Bambam mumbled. He was getting caught up, trying to think of what kind of person Yugyeom’s brother must be to take away all his dates.

“He thinks I’m just a little kid,” Yugyeom continued ranting. “It’s so frustrating!”

Yugyeom’s mom appeared in the doorway. “Yugyeom, darling, control your anger,” she said. Bambam wasn’t sure how she had heard Yugyeom at all. Last he had seen, she was on the first floor, gardening outside. Not the third-floor attic.

Bambam got goosebumps on his arm all of a sudden, and he noticed Yugyeom shiver when his mom left. It was like the warmth was sucked out of the room.

Yugyeom sighed. “Maybe it’s better if I don’t have friends. My family is weird as hell anyway.”

“How’d your mom hear you?” Bambam whispered.

“The window’s open. I was yelling,” Yugyeom said.

Bambam turned around, and, indeed, the curtains were fluttering in the wind. He could have sworn that window wasn’t open when he had walked into the room, though…

A car rolled up outside of the suburban house. It was possibly the nicest car Bambam had ever seen. “Whoa! That’s a cool car, Yugyeom!”

Yugyeom’s face grew panicked and he leapt towards the window. “Shit! My brother’s here. He said he wouldn’t be home until tomorrow!”

Bambam grew more confused as the seconds ticked by. “What’s the big deal-“

Yugyeom shushed him. “Just hide in my closet, okay? _He_ can’t see you!”

Bambam, a young boy of fifteen, is now wonderfully scared out of his mind, so he ducks into the closet and hides behind Yugyeom’s sweatshirts, the floral detergent scent barely helping to calm him down.

The door to Yugyeom’s room slammed open, a gust of unnatural wind again filling the small room with its hunched, slanted ceiling. Yugyeom glanced up from where he was sitting on his bed, a book in hand.

A voice floated out from the doorway. “Yugyeommie! Surprise! Hyung is home a day early!”

The voice sounded like honey, making Bambam’s fingers tingle.

“Mom said you had a friend over…” the man, Yugyeom’s brother, Bambam has to assume, stepped farther into the room. “Gyeommie?”

Yugyeom had a smile plastered on his face. “He just left. Sorry, Youngjae-hyung.”

Youngjae finally came into Bambam’s slanted view through the shutter closet doors. He held in a gasp. The man looked like any average, soft college student, but his eyes were a frightening emerald green and Bambam swore there were little lightning bolts running in between his fingertips. He smiled, and his eyes flickered to the closet. Bambam was pretty sure this beautiful person hung the moon and all the stars and- he froze up as those eyes narrowed in on the closet door. Yugyeom wouldn’t want to be his friend anymore if he was found…

“Hyung has to go back to the city again tomorrow night, so that’s why I came early…” Youngjae said, his fingers playing with the sleeves of his trench coat.

Yugyeom laughed. “Cool, Hyung! Why so soon, though?”

“Ah… there’s a request at the store I need to fill out.” Bambam could tell he was being vague. He knew Bambam was hiding. The man walked over to Yugyeom and kissed his forehead, brushing away his too-long bangs. Bambam swore Yugyeom’s eyes flashed green for a moment, though it was much darker in color, little stars appearing where his freckles were on his eyelids.

Bambam stared.

Youngjae spun around, coat billowing behind him, and winked at the still-closed closet. “Say hello to your friend before he leaves for me, Gyeommie.” His eyes turned a plain brown and everything strange about him vanished. Bambam rubbed his eyes, a weird film appearing over his thoughts.

He stumbled out of the closet the moment the door closed again. “Whoa, it was super dark in there… I couldn’t even hear anything,” he mumbled, scratching his head.

Yugyeom chuckled. “Oh, Bambam, it’s okay. My brother’s just a nuisance, anyway.”

Bambam stared at the now-shut doors, and goosebumps rose over his arms again. “My siblings are the same…”

Yugyeom smiled, but there was a anxious, pain-filled expression in his eyes.

He might have just kept his first friend.

Probably not for long.

\--

Bambam returned to Yugyeom’s little suburban home, blue and unassuming as ever, two weeks later. He had had an uncomfortable, burning sensation in chest for the past weeks since he left Yugyeom’s house. There was something wrong – a blank in his memory – and his body wasn’t reacting well. Saturday morning, he decided to bike over. The burning in his chest subsided the moment he stepped onto the Choi-Kim’s lawn. He tried to shrug it off. Failed.

The fancy car was no longer there, but a beat-up truck did sit on the curb, the tires coming up the side a bit like the parking job had been hasty. Despite the eerie quiet surrounding the neighborhood, the _unnatural quiet_ , Bambam stepped up to the front door and knocked.

Yugyeom’s mom opened it, a bright smile on her face. “Hello, Bambam! So nice to see you again, sweetie! Are you here to see Yugyeom?”

“Uh, yeah,” Bambam mumbled.

She ushered him inside, shouting in the direction of the stairs. “Yugyeom! Your friend is here!”

Bambam followed Yugyeom’s mother into the kitchen, where a young man Bambam didn’t recognize was cutting up an apple. He had shaggy hair that was long in the front and in the back, falling into his eyes and tickling his neck. Piercings rippled up his ears and Bambam was sure a tattoo was peeking out from under the collar of his hoodie. His clothes were plain, though, like any normal college student. He stared at Bambam in a way that made him want to look the other direction.

Bambam smiled in that charming, awkward way teens do instead. “…Hi.”

The young man tilted his head. “Hey.” He dumped the apple slices onto a plate and grabbed a jar of peanut butter, then left the kitchen.

Bambam watched him with curious eyes. “Uh, Mrs. Kim… who was that?”

She chuckled. “Just my son’s m-friend. Don’t worry about it.” Bambam hadn’t planned on ‘worrying about it,’ but considering the way she wanted to address the young man as something else, he had second thoughts.

Yugyeom skidded into the kitchen a moment later, almost slipping on the hardwood in his fuzzy socks. “Bambam!”

“Hey, Yugyeom!”

“What’re you doing here?” he asked. Bambam thought, for a brief moment, that Yugyeom didn’t want him there.

“I was just bored, y’know. Thought we could play a game or something… I can leave if you want to be alone.”

“No!” Yugyeom cried. He winced. “Or, uh, no, it’s cool. Mom, can you make a snack?”

“Sure, sweetie. For the basement?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay. Youngjae and Jaebum are in the library, I believe.”

Bambam wondered why Yugyeom would need that information at all, but he seemed relieved to hear it. _Jaebum_ was probably the scruffy boy from before.

Bambam followed Yugyeom down a picture frame-filled hallway and into a doorway which led down into the basement. He glanced around once their feet landed on the carpet. The flat screen TV and plush couches without dents made Bambam want to believe that nothing down here was ever touched. That was probably an absurd thought. Probably.

Yugyeom chucked in some version of _Call of Duty_ for them to play, only pausing when Yugyeom’s mom came down with pizza pockets. Bambam started to relax. His chest didn’t hurt and everything seemed very _average_ in this house. It was calming.

“Hey, Yugyeom, since I left your house last I had a really weird heartburn feeling, but it went away when I came back. Do y’know why?”

Yugyeom froze up. “…Why?”

“I think my heart was trying to tell me that I missed you, bro.”

Yugyeom laughed. “Bro, that warms _my_ heart.”

His eyes flickered behind Bambam, making him turn around. He hadn’t noticed the glass double-doors leading to the small library on the side of the room. He did now that Youngjae was standing there, smiling at them. His eyes twinkled.

“Hello again, Bambam. It’s nice to see you.”

Bambam nodded, his hands going clammy. This feeling was familiar, he thought. “Hi, Youngjae…”

“Jae, can you help me with this problem?” a fond voice asked from behind Yugyeom’s ethereal brother. It was the young man, Jaebum. From the way his fingers lingered on Youngjae’s shoulder, Bambam was pretty positive they weren’t just _friends_.

Youngjae smiled. “Of course. Oh, Bambam this is Jaebum, a friend of mine. I’m tutoring him.”

“You go to university?” Bambam asked.

“Yes – in the city. We met… there.”

Yugyeom rolled his eyes. “Okay, Hyung. You can go away now.”

Youngjae walked over to them, or Bambam thought he did, but he moved to quickly it was hard to tell, and grabbed one of the pizza pockets. He smirked and hopped back to the library. “See you, Bambam.”

Bambam was positive, then, that his eyes flashed an emerald green, like fresh grass. He stared even after the door closed and the pair disappeared. He was missing something. He just wasn’t sure what.

\--

Im Jaebum was a strange guy. He had flecks of crimson in his eyes and a hunger for the unattainable. Power, happiness, freedom, love. Whatever. He wanted it.

That was why, when he stumbled upon Choi Youngjae working at the university café, his insatiable hunger spiked to an all-time high. That was three years ago. Three years ago he saw that beautiful boy with black hair that seemed more purple in the light and eyes that flickered like stars. Sometimes he thought he saw lightning crackling at his fingertips and if he told Jaebum he hung the moon, Jaebum would have believed him.

So, doing the only reasonable thing a bitter monster can do, he went to the café every day and stalked the boy. He stared at him so much, in fact, that the boy appeared at his favorite table one day, a smirk on his lips and his eyes twinkling with amusement.

“Do you have something you’d like to say?” he asked, sliding a warm latte over to Jaebum. It was his favorite type of coffee.

Finally, meeting the boy’s gaze, Jaebum felt some of his heart-wrenching hunger dissolve. Not fully, but a bit. And that was an improvement. “Thank you,” Jaebum mumbled, sitting down next to him.

“Well, that was the polite response,” the boy said, his voice filled with mirth and warmth that made Jaebum feel all fuzzy, “but I was looking for a name. I’m Choi Youngjae, by the way.”

“Im Jaebum,” he extended a hand, and they shook. With the touch of their skin, a little bit more of the hurt dissipated. This boy, Choi Youngjae, was a drug. Jaebum was sure of it.

“Nice to meet you, Jaebum. I was disappointed you never approached me, but your eyes are just as lovely as I thought they would be, so I’ll let it slide.”

Jaebum blinked. “I don’t think anyone’s ever called my eyes _lovely_.”

“Ah, just the right amount of black and brown and that fiery red. I think it’s charming.”

Jaebum’s hands froze on the mug. He ignored the sting of the heart. “Pardon?”

“The color of your irises. I like it,” Youngjae said.

He said red. Jaebum knew he said red was in his eyes. No human should see red. “…Thank you,” he replied instead.

Youngjae left the moment a new costumer entered the café, only saving one last glance for Jaebum over his shoulder.

When Jaebum looked down at the table again, a little slice of receipt paper was waiting, numbers scribbled on top.

That paper hadn’t been there even a second ago, but Jaebum didn’t notice that. What he noticed, though, was that he had gained the phone number of the beautiful boy who worked at the café, and his lips curled into a smile.

\--

Youngjae didn’t trust the boy at the café who liked to watch him. _Im Jaebum_. He smelled unfamiliar and dangerous and he had dark magic whirling around himself. He was probably unaware of that fact, but the moment Youngjae uncovered his eyes he could see it, like an ugly raincloud waiting to pour. He wondered what this boy had done to deserve such magic.

Youngjae knew the boy was a shapeshifter, though Jaebum would never need to know Youngjae was a witch. It didn’t hold a good face, to be a witch. In the magic community they were conniving assholes. Youngjae couldn’t deny it because he was most definitely a conniving asshole. Youngjae wondered, though, what kind of creature Jaebum was. A phoenix, a hellhound, a freaking lizard-man, maybe. It was impossible to tell, save for the red in his eyes.

Speaking of the red in his eyes, Youngjae was reminded why he was at his Aunt Sohee’s shop in the first place, looking through her collection of rare books, running his fingers along the dusty spines. He paused at an old, wooden tome with _A Complete Guide to Shapeshifters_ written on the side. Youngjae shrugged and yanked the thing out. It was good enough.

He skimmed the pages, getting close to the end of the shapeshifter alphabet, when the bell over the door jingled. Youngjae pretended that he was just a customer as his cousin, who was manning the desk, greeted the newcomer.  

Youngjae froze up a moment later when said customer called his name.

“…Youngjae?”

Youngjae’s head cranked around to look into the wild eyes of Im Jaebum yet again. “Fancy meeting you here,” he said.

Jaebum scratched the back of his neck. “Uh, what are you?”

“What are _you_?” Youngjae challenged.

He blinked. “Touché.”

Youngjae nodded, keeping the book behind his back. “What brings you here?”

“Remedy for a friend. He’s very ill.”

Youngjae jumped up, snapping his fingers behind his back so the book returned to its original place. “I can help you.”

“Alright…”

“What symptoms are we talking?” Youngjae asked.

“He’s feverish and drowsy, always fainting. He says he has this ache in his chest, too, and it won’t go away.”

“What is your friend?” Youngjae asked, already figuring the answer.

“He’s, uh, a werewolf.”

Youngjae had found the page he was looking for the moment Jaebum opened the door. Red in the eyes meant _alpha_ to werewolves. A sacred position. “Has he _met_ anyone recently?”

Jaebum blinked. “He said there was a guy who helped him on the train when he dropped his bag. That’s it, I think.”

“I think your friend has been marked,” Youngjae said. “The only way to quell his pain would be to find that man again. Human or wolf or whatever, their bond has already taken hold.”

Jaebum seemed very surprised by that information. Youngjae thought he might be a lousy werewolf. Or maybe he was just surprised by Youngjae’s superior knowledge. “Thank you.”

“Oh, give him some Advil,” Youngjae added after a moment. He winked. “It never hurts.”

Jaebum nodded, but Youngjae could tell he was uncomfortable. “Thanks again, Youngjae,” he paused, like he wanted to say something else, then decided against it and left, the little bell jingling again behind him.

Youngjae’s cousin coughed. “Who was _he_?”

“Just someone I met at my job. No biggie.”

“No biggie until he discovers you’re a fucking magic man,” she grumbled.

Youngjae let his lightning bolts twist around his fingers as he stared at his hands. “Don’t worry, Youngha. It’ll all be _fine_.”

Youngha sighed as Youngjae left, shaking her head in disappointment. “You and I have a very different definition of _fine_ ,” she said, then kicked her legs up on the counter and stuffed another gummy bear in her mouth.

Youngjae chuckled. “That’s a good thing.”

\--

Youngjae went on little meetings (dates) for about a month with Jaebum after receiving his phone number in return. They never spoke of their meeting at the apothecary again – probably to maintain some sad sense of normalcy in their world. In fact, Youngjae grew to like Jaebum, trying to figure out what he was fading into a mystery in the back of his mind and charming smiles and awkward laughs began to overwhelm his senses instead. Until, that is, he noticed Jaebum’s pack mark.

He really shouldn’t have noticed it. He never would have been able to if he hadn’t had to lend Jaebum a shirt after spilling soup all over him (why they were together in Youngjae’s apartment was a story for another time.) He had handed Jaebum one of his various _Supreme_ pieces, waiting as Jaebum turned around. (Youngjae didn’t know why he didn’t just leave the room. (He knew very well why. He just didn’t want to admit it.)) As Jaebum’s back was left open he noticed a small circle of black ink in between his shoulder blades. It held the symbol of a roaring wave inside. Youngjae knew this symbol well enough that a bubbling sense of dread began to fill him, closing up his throat.

It was the symbol of the coastal pack – _werewolf pack_ – known as the Mulgyeol. The pack’s secretive nature wasn’t the only thing it had going for itself. Mulgyeol was always associated with three things: power, fear, and undying loyalty. They were probably the most powerful pack in Korea.

Why this sweet, charming boy Youngjae had met at the college café he worked for was a member of said pack was beyond him, but Youngjae knew he would be in grave danger if he stuck around much longer.

Soon after that, about a month and a half into their friendship, Youngjae, as much as he didn’t want to, cut off ties with Jaebum. He never gave a reason – just quit his job and spent his weekends at his parent’s house in a suburban town outside of Seoul instead. It was best, He decided, for the both of them. Witches, especially powerful witches like the Choi-Kims, did not need to associate with the Mulgyeol (or any wolves, for that matter.)

Youngjae knew it was the right decision, but he couldn’t explain the tense hands and aching chest he got in return for his ‘smart thinking.’ He didn’t have it in himself to care.

\--

Yugyeom and Youngjae’s summer break aligned perfectly. That was why, after Youngjae’s ordeal with a certain werewolf which was unknown to the whole family, Yugyeom was able to see his brother grow ill.

Not a sneezing, coughing, sore throat sort of ill, but a painful, bone-aching, chill-inducing, migraine-creating sort of ill that had Yugyeom scared for his brother’s life.

He couldn’t explain it, no one in the family could. His brother came home from his second term a bit tired and worn out, but his usual bubbly self, until one day he complained of a strange headache. The headaches grew until Youngjae couldn’t see and he began to lose feeling in his toes. The pain grew until he couldn’t eat anything without throwing up. The sickness grew until Yugyeom was scared he would have to live without his older brother.

Yugyeom’s mother did the only thing she knew she could. She called her own mother, the most powerful witch in all of Korea.

To explain, Youngjae’s father was not Yugyeom’s father. Youngjae’s father was a fae man who charmed his mother and then she charmed him, and then they fell in love and got married in their early twenties. Youngjae’s father died when Youngjae was only about four in the Elven-Fae wars. Heartbroken, Youngjae’s mother began to see a human physiatrist to help with her mental state. A year later she fell in love with that man, Yugyeom’s father, and since then they all lived as a happy family. Youngjae considered Mr. Kim his own father himself, not knowing another one. But, their father was not a part of the magical world. He knew of it, of course, but he stayed uninvolved. He was the reason for Yugyeom’s difference from Youngjae’s extreme power and magical, so to speak, looks. (It’s hard to compare in that department to an immortal.) He was also the reason that Grandma Kim didn’t visit much from Kim Manor, because that terrifying little woman packed a punch that Yugyeom’s mother would rather not expose her dear husband to.

But, desperate times called for desperate measures, and so Grandma Kim arrived. She was a strange woman to see, always wearing sweeping velvet cloaks and never concealing her _magik_ _eyes_ , a wild forest green that shimmered like liquid gemstones. Her frizzy hair stuck out in all directions and she wore a massive amount of jewelry that did nothing to diminish from her youthful face and pinched lips. She didn’t just look at a person, she surveyed them. That was why Mr. Kim refused to open the door when she appeared. She let herself in, anyway.

“Where is the boy, Yoonha?” she cried.

Their mother poked her head out from upstairs. “Here, mother. Come.”

The little woman pranced up the stairs and burst into Youngjae’s room, taking in the dark lights and unresponsive boy. Her grandson was such a bright creature that she began to fear for him herself. She swept over to his side and sat next to him, performing a series of charms while Yugyeom and his mother waited in the doorway. Yugyeom’s small hands gripped onto his mother’s shirt.

Grandma laughed aloud when she realized the issue. “Oh _dear_. The council will be very, _very_ unhappy about this.”

“Mother… what do you mean?”

“Our darling prodigy is the mate of a mangy mutt!”

“…A mutt?” little, twelve-year-old Yugyeom asked.

A relieved smile came upon Yugyeom’s mother’s face. “She means a _werewolf_ , dear. Youngjae is the mate of a werewolf! Now, mother, why is he so sick?”

“Stupid boy forced himself away from his wolf, probably because he didn’t know and thought their relationship was a bad idea.”

“W-what do we go, Grandma?” Yugyeom bit his lip.

“We call the wolf to us,” she declared. “It’s the only way to solve the issue, considering Youngjae cannot possibly move. I’m sure he or she is in great pain themselves – mates, whether they know it or not, cannot be separated once a bond is created. It ruins them. Wolves are such sentimental creatures, which you wouldn’t expect. Youngjae will not be able to live without his wolf for more than a week without undergoing the same kind of pain… Until, you know, they’re actually _mates_ , and by then it will only dwindle slightly,” Grandma Kim smirked, for a reason Yugyeom didn’t understand and mother scowled at.

“How do we call them here, mother?”

“Well… I think they’ll show up on their own, dear Yoonha. Tomorrow is the full moon. He’ll be here. Don’t worry. Please, though, let him in. Youngjae won’t be able to live for much longer like this,” she murmured, stroking her grandson’s hair. His fingers twitched in his sleep, the only sign of movement anyone had seen from him in days.

Yugyeom stared at his brother. “I’ll wait for brother’s wolf all day tomorrow!”

Grandma stood again and patted her younger grandson’s head as she prepared to leave. “Please do, Yugyeommie. We need your brother to be okay again.”

Yugyeom smiled his still too-childish grin. “Will do!”

\--

Yugyeom waited all day on the front porch, just like he said he would. He had committed to the idea of meeting his brother’s _mate_ first. Yugyeom knew what the word implied, he just didn’t know what it meant for Youngjae. Would _he_ have one of these mate’s too? Or was that another special thing just for Youngjae. Yugyeom couldn’t be sure, but a mate sounded like a lot of commitment. Yugyeom was pretty sure his brother could keep that one for himself.

The day grew into dark and the moon began to rise, stars beginning the shake out across the sky. Yugyeom’s mother watched from the kitchen window as she made dinner and hoped the wolf would be kind to her anxious son. She didn’t know what to expect from this whole ordeal, or why in the world Youngjae would push this werewolf away. She figured she was about to find out.

At eight o’clock the moon was already high and heavy in the sky, full, just as Grandma had said. Its pearly light flung about the neighborhood, illuminating the dark streets so Yugyeom could play watch guard.

He still jumped in fright when a massive ruddy brown wolf did appear in front of him. It wasn’t snarling, though it did look a bit angry.

Yugyeom held out his palm, and the wolf pressed its nose into his hand. It seemed satisfied, and a moment later a boy around Youngjae’s age in black jeans and a t-shirt was standing in front of Yugyeom glancing around the neighborhood. “Who’re you?” he asked, voice gravelly. He sounded like he had been yelling.

“Who are _you_?” Yugyeom replied. “And what do you want with my brother?”

The young man’s lips twitched and he sat down on the step stones in front of Yugyeom. Yugyeom’s mother let the window slide open a bit so she could listen in. “I’m Im Jaebum. I’m assuming Youngjae is your brother?”

“What’s it to you?” Yugyeom replied.

“Youngjae is my friend,” Jaebum said. “But he left me. I think he saw my pack symbol and became scared. Which was dumb of him, really.”

“He’s kind of dumb,” Yugyeom mumbled. “Fine. I’m Yugyeom. I’ve been waiting for you.”

Jaebum smiled. “Nice to meet you, Yugyeom.”

“Do you hurt, like my brother?” Yugyeom asked. “He can’t even move anymore and hasn’t eaten for weeks – Grandma said it was because of _you_.”

Jaebum blinked. “I… Yes, Yugyeom it does hurt. Right here,” he said, poking the center of Yugyeom’s chest. “It hurts a lot. That’s why I let my wolf lead me here. So we wouldn’t be in pain anymore.”

Yugyeom stood up. “I guess you can come in. Your story checks out.”

“What are you, anyway?” Jaebum asked.

“I’m an oracle!” Yugyeom said. “And my brother is going to be the most powerful witch in the world!”

“The stupidest witch, maybe,” Jaebum grumbled, following Yugyeom into the quaint little house.

Their mother stood at the bottom of the stairs. “You’re the wolf?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“I’m their mother. Don’t you hurt my son, mister,” she said. A weird introduction, but they were a weird family.

Jaebum cracked a smile. “How could I?”

She tapped her chin. “Ah, he’ll hurt you first. Youngjae’s always been like that. This won’t be the first time, nor the last. But, Jaebum, I hope you’ll stick around,” she said, patting his shoulder and pushing him up the stairs. “Third door on the right.”

Jaebum glanced around this little home, filled with family photos and drawings and lego blocks stuck in the carpet. It was so different from the Mulgyeol pack home it gave Jaebum a funny feeling. He pushed open the directed door and shut it behind him, the pain in his chest that he had been feeling for weeks immediately decreasing.

Jaebum walked over to the bed and sat on the opposite side of Youngjae. He held his hand, a bit hesitant, then leaned over and kissed his forehead. It was the first time he had ever touched Youngjae, skin to skin, and it felt like all the pains that he had ever felt subsided. He knew his wolf felt it too, the sense of becoming whole just by holding this silly sorcerer’s hand. He jumped when Youngjae’s eyes flicked open, a blinding emerald green replacing the usual brown. Despite his pale skin and hallowed cheeks Jaebum thought Youngjae had never looked lovelier.

Youngjae groaned and glanced over at Jaebum, then at their hands. “What’re you doing here? What the hell happened?”

“From what I’ve summarized from your brother, you’ve been bedridden for about eight weeks because you foolishly decided that separating us would be a good idea.”

“…Why would it be a bad idea?” Youngjae snarked.

“Because we’re mates, you dumbass,” Jaebum said. His voice was too affectionate for his own ears. “We can’t be separated.”

Youngjae’s other hand came out from under his blanket to play with Jaebum’s fingers. “That’s probably something I should know, but whatever. It makes sense. I feel like the dead.”

Jaebum smiled, and it hurt his face a bit. “Do you want to just go back to sleep?”

Youngjae groaned. “Yeah.”

When Yugyeom’s mom poked her head in, hours later, to see the two boys curled up, their intertwined hands still laying in between them as they snored, she knew everything would be just fine.

\--

Bambam came over to the Choi-Kim household every weekend, trying to catch a glimpse of Youngjae. He hated it, not only because he had a crush on Yugyeom’s older brother, but also because he felt like he was using Yugyeom to get to him. He was a bad friend.

Yugyeom, though, was happier than ever. He had a friend who wanted to see him every weekend, who wasn’t scared off or enamored with his brother. (He couldn’t be sure about the last bit, but at the moment he couldn’t even bring himself to care.)

Bambam still was weary of the house, but at the same time he needed it, like a drug. The pain in his chest grew each week only to pass in peace the moment he stepped onto the property borders. It made him scared.

When he expressed the sentiment to Yugyeom, the boy only said it was in his head. Bambam didn’t believe him.

Yugyeom on the other hand, was terrified. Bambam’s connection with the house was like Youngjae’s connection with Jaebum and he couldn’t understand why. What in the world was tying him down to their average, suburban home?

Yugyeom hated it, but he knew there was only one person who would be able to find out. His not-so-beloved hyung.

\--

The first time Youngjae met Jaebum’s inner circle he was more nervous then he had ever been in his life. And Youngjae was never nervous. Ever.

Jaebum wanted to laugh at him, but he had to look like a respectful future pack leader, so he held back. Not that Youngjae knew he was the future pack leader.

Youngjae felt even worse once Jaebum arrived at his apartment wearing a suit, he himself donning ripped jeans and a hoodie. Jaebum just smiled and said he looked lovely.

The pack house looked over the coast, an few hours drive away. Youngjae wasn’t very surprised by the massive mansion and acres around it that was all held by the Mulgyeol.

When they stepped out of the car Youngjae felt at peace, the sea breeze pushing against his face and the sound of crashing waves made him feel calm. Jaebum, on the other hand, was suddenly very nervous.

He let them inside, the house fairly quiet for around five in the evening. “Anyone home?” Jaebum called.

A short and stocky man appeared at the top of the double-sided staircase and slid down the railing. “Jaebum!”

He jumped on top of Jaebum. “I didn’t know you were coming home!”

Youngjae looked on, amused, as Jaebum was trampled by a variety of figures coming down the stairs.

After short and stocky came tall and skinny, and then a boy who looked straight out of the manga Youngjae used to read. There were no other folks appearing, though Youngjae felt the presence of others in the house.

He watched as the three finally noticed him, the short and stocky one growing excited while the other two were more curious. Youngjae glanced at Jaebum with a raised brow as the short young man circled him, nodding his head in appraisal. Or approval?

Jaebum pulled Youngjae over to his side. “This is Choi Youngjae.”

Youngjae gave them all a little wave. “Nice to meet you.”

The short and stocky one poked his arm. “You’re not human, huh?”

“That’s Jackson Wang,” Jaebum said, then he pointed at tall and skinny, “That’s Mark, and that’s Jinyoung,” he said after, looking to manga boy.

Youngjae nodded. “I am not fully human, Jackson Wang. You are very correct.”

“What, half human?” Jackson asked, still poking around. Jaebum swatted his hands away.

“No, no,” Youngjae smiled his usual too-amused-too-smart-for-you smile.

Jaebum grinned when Jackson pouted. Youngjae could almost see his ears folding down like a sad little puppy.

Jinyoung sighed. “Please, Youngjae, we don’t want you to stand in the foyer forever. Come with us.”

Jaebum’s hand rested at his side, brushing Youngjae’s as the walked, or it did until Jackson shoved in between them with a wide, rather cute smile. “Where’d you two meet?”

“We met at the café I work at in Seoul, then the apothecary my aunt owns. I work there now.”

“Why was Jaebum-hyung at an apothecary?” Jackson asked.

“He was looking for a remedy for an ill friend… Similar ailment to my own, I believe. Though I assume it was far less severe.”

Jackson blinked. “Huh?”

“When you were sick because of our bond,” Jinyoung said. “You remember?”

“Well, duh! It was hard to forget! Wait! You’re Jaebum-hyung’s mate!”

Youngjae stared at him. “Clearly.”

Jackson leaned close into his face, causing Youngjae to stop walking. “We’ll you’re clearly sticking around, so you might as well tell me what you are.”

Youngjae glanced over his shoulder to Jaebum, who shrugged. “I’m a half-fae-half-witch,” he said after a moment. “Is that satisfactory?”

“Your parent’s a fae?” Jackson cried. “That’s so cool!”

“My mother is a witch. My father is a human,” Youngjae said. “Well… My biological father died in the wars, but, you know.”

Jackson looked very sad, then. “That’s terrible. I’m so sorry, Youngjae.”

Youngjae patted his shoulder. “You’re fine. I don’t see why you care so much, though.”

“Well, the futu-“

Jaebum slapped a hand over his mouth. “What’s for dinner, Jinyoung?”

“Thai takeout, I think,” he mumbled, still listening to whatever Mark was talking about.

Youngjae was interested to realize that Mark hadn’t said a word to him yet, but he figured he was just shy.

Youngjae stayed the night in Jaebum’s room, which he found was rather grand, even for the mansion of a home. It was also not very Jaebum, none of the photos and music and cats that surrounded his personal apartment in Seoul. He flopped onto the massive, plush bed just the same.

“I don’t believe Mark said anything to me for the four hours I’ve been here,” he declared to Jaebum, who was shuffling around the room, gathering clothes for them.

“Ah, Mark is quiet. If he likes you, he’ll open up to you soon, I’m sure. You’re not hard to like.”

Youngjae made a little _hmpf_ noise and turned around so he was facing the high ceiling. “What was Jackson going to say that made you cover his mouth?”

Jaebum chuckled. “Nothing important.”

Youngjae’s eyes flashed an eerie purple when Jaebum came near him. It was a sign that someone had lied to him. “Tell me.”

Jaebum eyed him. “ _I’mthefutureleaderofthepack_ ,” he mumbled.

Youngjae rolled his eyes. “Please.”

Jaebum sat down next to Youngjae on the bed, playing with his hands. “I’m the future leader of the Mulgyeol. I didn’t want to tell you because it’s a lot of pressure, but, well, Jackson has never been good at taking hints.”

Youngjae smiled. “Jaebum-ah, your eyes are red. I knew that anyway.”

Jaebum blushed. “Of course you did.”

Youngjae just laughed in return.

\--

Youngjae watched Bambam like Yugyeom asked, noticing the way he staggered every time he came on the lawn and groaned when he left. There was something wrong. Not like when Youngjae had left Jaebum, but clearly similar. He wondered what the Thai boy’s family was hiding from him. Because, as far as Youngjae could tell, he was being affected by the barriers around their house. Barriers intended to keep out the evil.

\--

Youngjae didn’t visit the pack house often because it was so far away from his work. He never expected the pack to come to him, though, but when Mark and Jackson and Jinyoung burst through the door of the apothecary he had to have second thoughts.

“Welcome to Choi Apothecary, how may I help you?” Youngjae droned, not looking up from his phone when the door jingled.

“Are you texting Jaebum-hyung?” Jinyoung’s voice floated over to him.

Youngjae’s head snapped up. “No.”

Jackson plucked the phone out of his hands before he could move. “Aww, that’s cute. Look at how many emojis Jaebum-hyung uses… Why is he never like this with _me_?”

Jinyoung stole the phone back, only to scroll through Youngjae’s texts. Youngjae, unimpressed, snapped his fingers and the phone appeared back in his hand. He then locked it. “What are you three here for?”

“Jaebum has to go away to the national pack meeting. He probably wasn’t going to tell you that, because it’s a secret event, but we figured you should know,” Jinyoung said.

Youngjae nodded. “I already knew that. What are you here for?”

Mark’s eyes widened in surprise. “…How’d you know that?” that was the first time Youngjae heard Mark speak. Jinyoung and Jackson seemed surprised as well.

“Why wouldn’t I know? Secret meetings aren’t shit when I know everything that happens in Korea. Besides, Jaebum-ah tells me everything.”

Jackson pouted. “ _He_ gets to drop the honorifics and _I_ don’t?”

Youngjae sighed. “You guys clearly need something. What is it?”

“We’ve caught word of a halfbreed brought into the country. Need some remedy to subdue its abilities.”

“Half what?”

“Half wolf, half human. It’s not a good combination, frankly,” Jinyoung said.

“Oh, here. I’ve got this.”

Youngjae grabbed a variety of herbs around him and smushed them together, then, satisfied, bottled it. “Slip it this and you should be fine. Where’d it come from, anyway?”

“Thailand. Apparently the parents didn’t disclose anything to him, and now he’s going into high school. It’s dangerous.”

Youngjae nodded in sympathy. “That’s too bad,” Mark slipped out his wallet and Youngjae pushed it away. “It’s fine. Just take care of the problem.”

Mark had an interesting glimmer in his eyes, then. “Thanks.”

Youngjae smiled as his phone buzzed again against the countertop. “Sure. Now, please leave. I have a job to do.”

Jinyoung rolled his eyes but gathered Jackson and left anyway.

Youngjae watched them go, his eyes trailing Mark’s back. He thought he might have cracked him after all.

\--

On cold mornings Youngjae and Jaebum liked to stay in bed as long as possible. Now, Youngjae woke up early, at around six every morning. Without fail. Jaebum’s internal clock was a complete disaster.

When it was hot, they were as far apart from each other as possible at night, trying to conserve the sweet relief of a chill breeze as much as they could. In cold weather, though, Jaebum was all wrapped around Youngjae, his legs intertwined and his hands wrapped tightly. Youngjae thought it was the wolf in Jaebum, not only seeking to comfort his cold-handed mate but also to preserve his own warmth. Youngjae still awoke at around six on these mornings, but the warm arms kept him in bed till whenever it was Jaebum finally awoke, even if he was going to be late. (Jaebum didn’t know this, but what he didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him.)

It was the little things in their love that counted, even more so knowing Jaebum would be the leader of the most powerful pack in Korea and Youngjae was destined to be High Witch of the magic council for his immense power.

It was the little things like staying in bed even when he was wide awake that let Jaebum know Youngjae loved him more than anything.

It was the little things that mattered the most.

\--

Yugyeom stopped Bambam from coming to their house under his brother’s advice, just to see what would happen. Things didn’t seem to get better for Bambam, though. In fact, the aches he had grew worse.

Youngjae was very concerned by this. The boy couldn’t live forever at their house. So, he did the only thing he could. He called his grandmother.

“ _Hello?_ ” the old woman said into the phone, her voice slightly too loud.

Youngjae sighed, slumping farther into Jaebum, who was working on homework. “It’s me, grandma, Youngjae. I have an important issue to talk to you about.”

“ _And what would that be, sweetie? Trying to propose_?” Jaebum, of course, could here this, and he pinched Youngjae’s red ears.

“No, Grandma. Yugyeom made a friend.”

“ _…Why is that a problem?_ ”

“Every time his friend leaves our house he gets major pain in his chest, and every time he just crosses onto the property boundaries it goes away… I thought it might be because of the barriers, but the longer he stays away the more it hurts, so it certainly isn’t that.”

“ _Is he more than human?_ ”

“Well, there’s a possibility, though I don’t think he would know himself.”

“ _That’s more troublesome, then. Could he be a wolf, like your Jaebummie?_ ”

“Why would that be a problem, Grandma?”

“ _Because, Youngjae, your house is Jaebum’s territory, is it not?_ ”

“Yes…”

“ _And a wolf without a pack only yearns for one thing, no?_ ”

“A pack… So you’re saying Bambam is a wolf or hybrid of some sort, and Jaebum’s possession is calling him, like his wolf wants him to follow the alpha, or something?”

“ _Precisely, Youngjae. You were always a smart cookie. I’m sure you can figure it out_.”

Youngjae sighed. “I don’t think I have a choice… Thank you, Grandma. See you soon.”

He felt a little magic prick on his cheek, almost like a kiss. He smiled. “ _See you soon as well, sweetie_.”

Jaebum stared at Youngjae as he put the phone down. “Well?”

Youngjae bit his lip. “Well, I think you might have to give the Mulgyeol an honorary member, babe.”

Jaebum groaned. “Wonderful.”

Youngjae couldn’t help but agree. “Wonderful, indeed.”

\--

Yugyeom brought over his first girlfriend when he fourteen. About a year and a half before he met Bambam. She was fun and sporty and Yugyeom wouldn’t necessarily call himself smitten, but he had a pretty long-standing crush on her. They were going to watch a movie together, so with popcorn and soda and an _Avengers_ DVD they went into the basement for some privacy. Privacy which was immediately lost when Yugyeom realized his hyungs were in the library, probably somewhere in between homework and making out. He didn’t really want to find out.

But Jihyo, his new girlfriend, noticed there were people in the room over. “Who’s there?” she asked.

“Ah, just my brother and his friend, I think.”

She blinked. “I didn’t know you had a brother, Yugyeommie! Is he older?”

“Yeah, by about five years. We’re, uh, really close, though.”

“That’s so sweet! My older sister is always such an asshole to me,” she whined.

Yugyeom couldn’t help but grin. Jihyo was really cute. “Aww.”

“Kim Yugyeom, are you laughing at me?” she cried.

Just then the library door creaked open, and Jaebum stuck his head out. He didn’t look particularly intimidating then, a beanie stuffed over his shaggy hair and most of his earrings gone. “Hey, Yugyeom-ah, could you keep it down? Your brother has a big test this week.”

Yugyeom eyed Jaebum’s rumpled shirt and thought that was a total lie. “Oh… Sorry.”

They did not, in fact, quiet down. Two young teenagers never really could. But Yugyeom did notice Jihyo’s eyes straying more often than not to the library. Yugyeom knew she thought Jaebum was hot. Everyone did. It just sucked that it had to happen on their first date.

The door slammed open about an hour later, and Youngjae pranced out. “Yugyeommie!” he cried. Magically, the movie paused, though neither had touched the remote. “How was school? And who’s this?” he asked.

Jihyo looked star struck, and Yugyeom was dumbfounded. His brother? Sure, he was above average, pretty or cute, maybe, but he didn’t deserve the light in Jihyo’s eyes. Yugyeom himself did!

Youngjae smiled at her. “Hey. Are you Yugyeommie’s friend?”

“Ha, uh, yeah… I am…” she said.

“School was good, hyung,” Yugyeom cut in. “We were watching the movie though, so…”

Youngjae put his hands up. “Sorry, Gyeom-ah, sorry! Didn’t mean to interrupt your little date,” he winked. “See you tomorrow morning, then, before Jaebum-ah and I head out.”

Yugyeom nodded and watched his brother go, dismay growing in his eyes the more Jihyo’s gaze trailed him.

“ _That’s_ your brother, Yugyeommie? No wonder you’re so cute, he’s gorgeous!” she declared.

Yugyeom felt his little heart shatter for the first time (and certainly not the last.) And that was also the first time he felt a simmering bitterness appear in his chest. It was the first time his brother had betrayed him like that. Not that Youngjae had done anything at all, but poor Yugyeom didn’t take it that way.

He saw it as the ultimate betrayal, and after that, after many, many dates, it only grew to a boil like black coffee in his heart.

Youngjae didn’t know why his sweet little brother grew distant from him. Why he hated him so. But he knew he wanted his little Gyeommie back.

It just might have been too late.

\--

Yugyeom was never good with emotions. That was why he threw the plate he was holding on the ground when he came into his room to find his brother leaning over Bambam. “What are you doing?” he cried.

Youngjae didn’t look at him, keeping his fingers pressed to Bambam’s forehead. Yugyeom saw the lightning bolts coming from his fingers, then looked at the ceramic all over the floor, and realized he may have made a mistake.

Jaebum cleared his throat. “Yugyeom?”

Yugyeom felt his cheeks go red in embarrassment. “Hi, hyung…”

Youngjae leaned back a moment later. “Bambam, does that all make sense?”

Bambam groaned and flopped back onto Yugyeom’s bed. “Werewolves are a real thing?”

“Yes. You are half werewolf, or we could say three-fourths human. And you can’t transform or anything, but you’ve got some of the instincts. That’s why you hurt when you’re away from our house. Does that make sense?”

Bambam nodded, looking ashamed. “Yeah… And so, like, I’m a part of this pack thing?”

Youngjae’s hand went on his hips and he nodded. “Yes. But I’ve released you so you can come here without needed to be a part of the pack.”

Bambam twisted his fingers together. “Thanks.”

Youngjae patted him on the head. “Of course. Now, hang out with your friend and never tell a single person about this, ever.”

Youngjae left then, pulling Jaebum along, and Bambam was still staring at the ground.

“Yugyeom?”

“Yeah?” Yugyeom asked, sitting next to him.

“I have a crush on your brother. Or, I did,”

“I know,” Yugyeom sighed.

“I’m sorry about that.”

Yugyeom smiled, finally meeting Bambam in the eyes. “Thank you. Not just for admitting it, but, you know, for choosing me. For being my first friend.”

Bambam’s smile was watery when Yugyeom opened his arms. “You’re my best friend, Yugyeom.”

And they hugged it out, like all good friends do.

Yugyeom left his response unspoken.

_You’re my best friend, too_.

**Author's Note:**

> sorry to the readers of my other story, i suck and school sucks and we make a sad, procrastinating team. i'm really trying to get that update ready, though... :)))))  
> This story was inspired by Halsey's song, aptly named Control. Give it a listen!  
> Anyway I hope you enjoy this story! It's a bit random and all over the place, but I had fun writing it and I hope you had fun reading!


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